NASA Space App Challenge Prizes Distributed at IEDC Summit 2025

KASARAGOD:
The prizes to the winners of NASA Space App Challenge were distributed at the IEDC Summit 2025 organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and jointly hosted by L.B.S. College of Engineering, Kasaragod and Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod.

The global finalists of the Challenge are teams Meteor Rizzlers (Riyan Raz, Zakiel Chungath, Sanjay Varghese, Shwethin Nikesh Kumar and Roshith Robert) and Celesta (Janeetta Cardoz, Athira S, Aparna Antony, Melvin George Mathew, Abisha Mariam Biju and M Sumith Muralidharan).

Kerala-based education technology startup Unique World Robotics (UWR) is the largest global organizer of the NASA Space Apps Challenge 2025, billed as the world’s largest hackathon for space and earth science innovations. UWR is a registered startup under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).

The feat comes after UWR organised this year 22 regional events across India, UAE and Europe. Out of the 16 events held in India, eight were in Kerala.

A total of 15,308 registrations, 2,276 teams and over 1,200 projects were submitted from UWR-organized centres. As much as 13.42 per cent of the total 1,14,094 registrations and 13.5 per cent of the 16,860 teams globally were through UWR. “This is a remarkable achievement,” said company founder Banson Thomas George.

The competitions were held in various fields such as storytelling, software development, astrophysics, agriculture and space exploration.

For the first time in history, two teams from Kerala made it to the top 45 global finalists, making it from 16,860 teams the world over. ‘Team Meteor Wrestlers’, comprising five second-year Computer Science students from Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology in Kochi, and ‘Team Celesta’, comprising six students from St Joseph’s College of Engineering and Technology in Palai achieved the feat (participating in the competition held in Kanjirappally in Kottayam district).

UWR was started with the aim of turning curiosity into opportunity, according to George. NASA Space Apps Challenge was brought to Kerala to connect local talent with the international space sector, Banson Thomas George said.

More than 10,000 people participate in this program every year. “This achievement will fuel the goal of enabling the next generation to engage confidently with the global space ecosystem,” he added.